Going Local: How Advertisers Can Extend Their Relevance With Search

the rundown

People have come to expect a certain amount of contextual relevance with
regard to search. In fact, new research shows that four in five U.S.
smartphone users believe search ads should be customized to their city, zip
code or immediate surroundings. Location-based ads can quickly satisfy
consumers' expectations by featuring a store's address, directions to a
nearby business and a phone number. By adopting a local strategy - one that
takes people's locations into consideration - businesses can provide
consumers with the information they need to take action.

Local advertising is not a new concept. The Yellow Pages, after all, have
been around in one form or another since 1886.1 What is new
is the way people are finding and consuming this information and how
advertisers can reach them.

Today, consumers search for local information online. To better understand
the mind-set and behaviors of consumers when they’re performing these local
searches, Google partnered with Ipsos MediaCT and Purchased® to run two
custom research studies. We recruited people who conduct searches on their
smartphone at least a few times per week. As part of the research,
respondents voluntarily completed an online survey or logged their smartphone
search and in-store activities via a mobile diary. We found that local
searches happen everywhere and that consumers respond well to ads that
feature location-based information such as a business address, directions, a
phone number and a click-to-call button (if they’re on a smartphone).

Local searches happen everywhere, on every device

We’ve all been in situations in which we needed to find something nearby—on a
business trip in a new city, while running errands around town or even when
simply planning where to go for dinner. In the past, when we wanted to find,
say, a great Mexican restaurant for dinner, we'd consult our favorite foodie
magazines or critics’ reviews from a local newspaper.

Today we search. We’d simply search for “Mexican restaurant” and the results
would be relevant to our location. This kind of searching is now commonplace.
In fact, four in five consumers use search engines to find products, services
or experiences nearby.2 They conduct local searches wherever they
happen to be; 84% use search engines on their computer or tablet and even
more (88%) do so on their smartphone.3

Respondents said they searched for local information on their computer/tablet
in a variety of places, including at home (76%), at work (24%) and at a hotel
or motel (18%); on smartphones they searched at home (53%), while on the go
(51%) and in stores and malls (41%), among other locations.4 And
when consumers are outside of the home, the majority of their smartphone
searches are of a local nature. In fact, 56% of smartphone searches done on
the go have local intent as do 51% of those done in-store.5

Wherever and whenever consumers search for local information, they’re likely
to look for a store’s address, directions to a store and its business hours.

Local searches lead to action

Our research suggests that consumers who conduct local searches are further
down the purchase funnel. Within a day of a local search, 34% of consumers
who sought local information on their computer or tablet made their way to a
store, and of those who used a smartphone, the number is even higher at
50%.6

Once in-store, they continue to search locally. They pull out their
smartphones to continue the discovery process—whether it’s to get more
information on a product or compare prices.

And their next step might just be to purchase. In fact, if you’ve gotten them
in-store, there’s a good chance that these consumers are ready to buy; a
greater percentage of local searches lead to a purchase within a day versus
non-local searches (18% vs. 7%).7 Local searchers are a prime
audience for advertisers because those who search with local intent are more
inclined to act.

What this means for ads

Consumers have come to expect a certain amount of contextual relevance with
regard to search. In fact, four in five want search ads to be customized to
their city, zip code or immediate surroundings (if they’re near an airport,
for example).8

And more than 60% of consumers said they used the local information in an ad,
specifically the link for directions and the click-to-call button (or the
local address and phone number if on a computer or tablet).9

By accounting for a consumer’s constantly changing location, all businesses
can benefit, whether they are an online-only company looking to attract
consumers in certain cities, a brick-and-mortar store trying to reach local
consumers or a multichannel organization hoping to drive consumers from
online to store. When it comes to a local strategy, advertisers should
consider the following:

Optimize for the consumer’s location. Advertisers
can reach a large set of consumers by starting with a wide geographic area
such as the entire U.S. and then using location bid adjustments to fine-tune
bids for specific areas or zip codes.

Help consumers find what they need. Make it easier
for the people searching to see the information they need most. Simply adding
location extensions, a phone number or a click-to-call button right in the ad
can help consumers take action faster.

Engage consumers near your stores. You should use
radius bidding to reach consumers near stores and build an attribution model
for local searches.

Today’s consumers are constantly connected; they’re using search engines to
gain access to local information whether they’re at home, on the go or
in-store. By optimizing budgets for location and providing information that
is locally relevant, advertisers can deliver better experiences to people in
the moments that matter.

Methodology:
Google partnered with Ipsos MediaCT and Purchased® on two custom studies
across nine verticals to uncover consumers’ local search behavior on
computers/tablets and smartphones. All participants were smartphone users
aged 18+ who conducted smartphone searches at least a few times per week. The
Ipsos Online Survey was administered January 10–22, 2014. We recruited 4,500
respondents to complete one of the nine vertical-specific surveys, and the
sample size was set at n=500 in each vertical surveyed. The Purchased Shopper
Smartphone Diary was administered December 18, 2013–January 30, 2014. There
were 653 respondents. In total, 3,431 smartphone searches and 2,262 store
visits were logged and analyzed.